


I thought love was only true in fairy-tales

by OceanAndARock



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fake Dating, Fake/Pretend Relationship, baby queer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29847147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanAndARock/pseuds/OceanAndARock
Summary: Henry tells Ava that his mothers are dating (they're not) and Ava wants details.  Emma convinces Regina to play along.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan, Grace | Paige/Gretel | Ava Zimmer
Comments: 20
Kudos: 154





	I thought love was only true in fairy-tales

They’re in the kitchen at Mifflin Street and Regina’s glaring at Emma in a way that she probably shouldn’t find so appealing. “So let me get this straight” and Emma snickers at _straight_ , because, well, because she’s Emma, “Henry told Ava that the two of us were dating, and you not only went along with it, but invited Ava to dinner?!”

“She was asking lots of questions, I was trying to distract her!”

“By forcing me to participate in this charade that you and Henry concocted?”

“That Henry concocted unassisted! I think he has a crush on Ava, I didn’t want to drop him in it by telling Ava he’d lied.” 

Henry had mentioned to Emma few days ago that he had told Nick and Ava’s Dad that his two mothers were dating, after Michael Tillman had seemed too invested in whether either of them were single. Apparently Ava seemed to think his Moms dating made Henry more interesting, so he didn’t want to admit that it wasn’t true. 

Emma hadn’t worried too much when Henry told her about the lie, she and Regina hardly ever saw Ava and it wasn’t like the idea of dating Regina was objectionable. But then she’d somehow ended up offering Ava a lift when she picked Henry up from school, which led to her current position of trying to talk Regina into being her fake girlfriend and lie to a fifteen-year-old.

“If we’re doing this, then we’re doing it my way.” Regina asserts and Emma knows better than to argue with her. “We need to agree some details."

We’ve been dating for six weeks” is Regina's first point, to which Emma readily concurs. 

“I initiated it because if I had waited for you to make a move this relationship would never have started.”

“That’s not true, I could have asked you out!” Emma feels the need to protest, because despite knowing better than to argue with Regina Emma often does it anyway.

“You’ve had five years and you haven’t done so” is Regina’s retort. 

“The first of those years you spent trying to kill me! And anyway this dinner tonight was kind of my idea.”

“This dinner which I am cooking, which you were trying to blame Henry for a few minutes ago, and at which our son and his friend are going to be present? Is that your idea of a romantic first date?” Regina asks scornfully. 

“Erm, no…?” Emma has no idea whether her son’s other mother is being serious or messing with her and wonders why it is that there’s never a Chernabog wreaking havoc when she wants a distraction. They only ever gets attacked by demons when it suits the demons.

“Is there anything else I need to know about our fictitious relationship, Madam Mayor?”

“Sex with me is the best sex you have ever had and the best you ever will have” Regina declares, with what Emma thinks is probably justifiable conceit, although she wouldn’t be averse to testing Regina’s claim.  
\------  
Dinner is less awkward than Emma had feared, because once Regina commits to a role she gives it her all. Throughout the meal she brushes her hand against Emma’s every time she passes her food, and the way she looks at Emma, like Emma is her everything, well Emma is pretty sure that if she was dating Regina and Regina looked at her like that for real she wouldn’t care whether the sex was any good, or if they never had sex at all, because she would be with Regina, and that is what would matter.

Henry is trying to act like his Moms’ behavior is perfectly normal and not deeply embarrassing, and Ava, she just has a lot of questions. “When did you first know you were attracted to Emma?” she asks Regina.

“The day after I first met her, when she attacked my apple tree with a chainsaw” Regina says with what looks like a combination of fondness and lust, and Emma knows that Regina is probably just a good actress, but she can’t help but hope that there may be an element of truth in the brunette’s answer.

Ava looks bemused. “What about you?” she asks Emma.

“The first time I met Regina I thought she was attractive, but she hated me and we spent a year fighting. Despite that when I got to know her better and saw the way in which she loved Henry so deeply I couldn’t help but fall for her” Emma says sincerely, and Regina looks at her like she knows she means it and isn’t horrified by that knowledge. Ava seems captivated by the conversation. 

“Is Regina the first woman you’ve dated? How did you realize you liked women romantically and not just as friends?” Ava asks.

“My first girlfriend was when I was sixteen. To start with I just knew I wanted to spend all my time with Lily, but I didn’t know what that meant. Then one day I’d eaten a doughnut and had sugar above my lip and Lily brushed it off with her fingers, and I knew then that I wanted to kiss her.”

Henry looks like he is learning more about his mothers than he ever wanted to know, so Emma changes the subject and asks Ava if she is doing the same science project as Henry.

Ava lights up. “I’m working with Paige. We’re doing a project about magic, looking at the science of potion making and the emotions behind intuitive magic and how they complement each other. Paige is really clever, she knows so much about both magic and science, she's nearly always top of the class when we have a test.”

Ava glows as she talks about Paige and Emma understands now why the teenager has been so interested in her and Regina.

They finish the main course and Regina asks Henry to come and help her with dessert, giving Emma a meaningful look and inclining her head minutely towards Ava as she does so. _Fuck!_ Is she meant to be qualified to give wise adult advice to a possible baby queer without disturbing her, when Emma can’t even figure out whether her attraction to Regina is reciprocated?! Nevertheless, Emma tries.

“I know I’m Henry’s least cool Mom and I’m definitely no expert on relationships, but if you have questions about dating, or if you and Paige just want to come and ask me about magic for your project, I’m happy to talk.”

“You’re definitely Henry’s coolest Mom” says Ava. “But don’t tell Regina I said that, she might throw a fireball at me!”

“She’s not so intimidating when you’ve seen her cry whilst watching E.T.” 

Ava giggles. “What are you two laughing at?” demands Regina as she and Henry return with dessert, Regina brushing her hands against Emma’s back as she passes. 

“I was just telling Ava what a softie you are when it comes to children’s movies.”

Regina narrows her eyes at Emma. “I will destroy you!” she says menacingly, but there is a twinkle behind her glare and Ava laughs again. Henry can’t keep his eyes off his friend.

Emma dares to put her arm around Regina’s waist as they’re waving Ava off and Regina leans into her and kind of nuzzles Emma neck. Emma wonders if would be weird to invite Ava back for dinner tomorrow night, just so that she has another opportunity to get close to Regina. 

As soon as the door is shut Henry stomps upstairs, muttering “you didn’t need to be so demonstrative in your fake relationship, other people’s parents aren’t this embarassing” as he goes. 

Emma and Regina wash the dishes and Regina asks if Emma spoke to Ava. “I didn’t want to push her and there wasn’t much time, but I let her know I was available if she wanted to talk.”

“Our son’s going to get his heart broken, isn’t he?” sighs Regina. “I never thought that I wouldn’t want to crush the heart of the girl responsible.”

“I know” agrees Emma. “I don’t want Henry to get hurt, but I do hope Ava gets the girl. I didn’t realise when I invited her to dinner that our pretend relationship would matter so much. She’s going to be upset when we fake break-up our fake relationship.”

Regina’s eyes glint. “I think it’s important to the young people of Storybrooke that we provide an example of a healthy relationship between two women as a counter to your parents’ insipid heterosexual love story.” 

Emma dares to hope. “Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”

“If you think I am suggesting that you take me on a real first date, something without our son and where someone else does the cooking, hopefully followed by some further dates, then yes. We owe it to the children.”

“I’d really like to kiss you now” declares Emma, and Regina doesn’t object.

**Author's Note:**

> I was just going to write a lighthearted fake dating story, because fake dating is one of my favourite tropes, but then my heart was captured by Ava being a not yet out baby queer.


End file.
